‫ו׳‬:‫בראשית ט׳‬

֖ ָ ָ‫)ו( שׁ ֹ ֵפ ְ֙ך ַ ֣דּם הָ ֽאָדָ֔ ם בּ‬

‫ֽאָדם דָּ ֣מוֹ יִשּׁ ֵ ָ֑פְך ֚ ִכּי בּ ֶ ְ֣צלֶם אֱ ֹל ִ֔קים‬
‫ָאָדֽם׃‬ ָ ‫ע ָ ָ֖שׂה אֶת־ה‬
Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds the blood of a person, by a
person shall ones blood be shed; For in God’s
image God made man.
 ‫ב׳‬:‫בבא מציעא ס״ב א‬
‫ורבי יוחנן האי וחי אחיך עמך מאי עביד ליה מבעי ליה לכדתניא שנים שהיו מהלכין בדרך וביד אחד מהן קיתון של מים אם‬
‫שותין שניהם מתים ואם שותה אחד מהן מגיע לישוב דרש בן פטורא מוטב שישתו שניהם וימותו ואל יראה אחד מהם‬
‫במיתתו של חבירו עד שבא ר' עקיבא ולימד וחי אחיך עמך חייך קודמים לחיי חבירך‬

Bava Metzia 62a:2

The Gemara asks: And Rabbi Yoḥanan, what does he do with this verse: “And your brother shall
live with you”? The Gemara answers: He requires the verse for that which is taught in a baraita: If
two people were walking on a desolate path and there was a jug [kiton] of water in the
possession of one of them, and the situation was such that if both drink from the jug, both will die,
as there is not enough water, but if only one of them drinks, he will reach a settled area, there is a
dispute as to the halakha. Ben Petora taught: It is preferable that both of them drink and die,
and let neither one of them see the death of the other. This was the accepted opinion until
Rabbi Akiva came and taught that the verse states: “And your brother shall live with you,”
indicating that your life takes precedence over the life of the other.
R. Walter Wurzburger, Ethics of Responsibility, Pg. 91
As in life boat ethics some rational system of priorities should
be devised rather than resorting to random selections of
patients. As painful as it may be to play God and determine
who shall live as a result of our intervention and who shall die
as the consequence of our nonintervention, we cannot
abdicate this responsibility. Random choice can hardly
qualify as a more humane method to resolve our dilemmas.
 Paul Ramsey, The Patient as a Person, 1970, pg. 256
When the ultimate of life is the value at stake, and when not all
lives can be saved, it can reasonably be argued that men should
stand aside as far as possible from the choice of who shall live
and who shall die … random selection is preferable not simply
because life is a value incommensurate with all other, and so not
negotiable by bartering one man’s worth against another’s. It is
sustained also because we have no way of knowing how really
and truly to estimate a man’s social worth.
 ‫ז׳‬-‫ו׳‬:‫ הלכות רוצח ושמירת נפש א׳‬,‫משנה תורה‬
‫ אִם‬.‫ כֵּיצַד‬:‫הָרוֹדֵ ף אַחַר ֲחבֵרוֹ ְלה ְָרגוֹ ֲאפִלּוּ ָהי ָה הָרוֹדֵ ף ָקטָן ה ֲֵרי כָּל יִשׂ ְָראֵל ְמ ֻצוִּין ְל ַהצִּיל ַהנּ ְִרדָּ ף ִמיּ ַד הָרוֹדֵ ף ַו ֲאפִלּוּ ְבּנַפְשׁוֹ שֶׁל רוֹדֵ ף‬
‫ ְואִם יְכוֹלִים ְל ַהצִּילוֹ בְּאֵ יבָר‬.‫שׁעֲדַ י ִן הוּא רוֹדֵ ף ה ֲֵרי זֶה נֶה ֱָרג‬ ֶ ‫ִהזְהִירוּהוּ ַוה ֲֵרי הוּא רוֹדֵ ף אַח ֲָריו אַף עַל פִּי שֶֹּׁלא ִקבֵּל ָעלָיו הַתְ ָראָה כֵּיוָן‬
‫ ְואִם ]אֵינָן[ י ְכוֹלִין‬.‫שׁבְּרוּ אֶת ַרגְלוֹ אוֹ יְסַמּוּ אֶת עֵינוֹ עוֹשִׂין‬ ְ ִ ‫שׁיּ ַכּוּ אוֹתוֹ ְבּחֵץ אוֹ ְבּ ֶאבֶן אוֹ ְבּ ַסי ִף ְוי ִ ְקטְעוּ אֶת י ָדוֹ אוֹ י‬ֶ ‫ֵמאֵיב ְֵרי הָרוֹדֵ ף כְּגוֹן‬
‫שׁעֲדַ י ִן ֹלא ה ַָרג‬
ֶ ‫הוֹרגִין אוֹתוֹ אַף עַל פִּי‬ ְ ‫ְל ַכוֵּן וּ ְל ַהצִּילוֹ ֶאלָּא אִם כֵּן ה ֲָרגוּהוּ לַרוֹדֵ ף ה ֲֵרי אֵלּוּ‬

Mishneh Torah, Murderer and the Preservation of Life 1:6-7

When a person is pursuing another with the intention of killing him - even if the pursuer is a minor - every
Jewish person is commanded to attempt to save the person being pursued, even if it is necessary to kill the
pursuer. What are the specifics? If the pursuer was warned and continues to pursue his intended victim, even
though he did not acknowledge the warning, since he continues his pursuit he should be killed. If it is
possible to save the pursued by damaging one of the limbs of the pursuer, one should. Thus, if one can
strike him with an arrow, a stone or a sword, and cut off his hand, break his leg, blind him or in another way
prevent him from achieving his objective, one should do so. If there is no way to be precise in one’s aim and
save the person being pursued without killing the pursuer, one should kill him, even though he has not yet
killed his victim.
 ‫ח׳‬-‫ז׳‬:‫בבא קמא ס״ט א‬
‫אמר רבן שמעון בן גמליאל במה דברים אמורים בשביעית דהפקר נינהו אבל בשאר שני שבוע הלעיטהו לרשע‬
‫וימות‬

Bava Kamma 69a:7-8

The Gemara resumes the citation from the mishna. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: In
what case is this statement, that vineyards of the fourth year and of orla require a sign warning
others not to eat them, said? During the Sabbatical Year. The Gemara explains: The reason is
that all fruit that grows during that year may be taken by anyone (see Leviticus 25:5–6), as in that
year all fruit is considered to be ownerless property. The mishna continues: But during the
other years of the Sabbatical cycle, when anyone who takes the grapes of another is guilty of
theft, there is no requirement to put up a sign warning others not to eat these forbidden fruits.
This is in accordance with the adage: Feed it to the wicked man and let him die. That is, one is
not required to take precautions to protect the wicked from the consequences of their own sins.
Here too, there is no obligation to warn a thief that the grapes he is stealing are prohibited.
 Is there a difference
between killing someone
with my bare hands and
setting up a trap to do it?
 Is there a
requirement to warn
a potential criminal?
 ‫ב׳‬-‫א׳‬:‫ הלכות רוצח ושמירת נפש ב׳‬,‫משנה תורה‬
‫ הוֹאִיל ַוה ֲָרגוֹ ִמכָּל‬.‫ אוֹ שׂ ְָרפוֹ ְבּאֵשׁ‬.‫שׁמֵּת‬ ֶ ‫ אוֹ‬.‫שׁ ִהכָּהוּ ְבּ ַסי ִף אוֹ ְבּ ֶאבֶן ַה ְמּמִיתָ ה‬
ֶ ‫שׁ ֲחנָקוֹ עַד‬ ֶ ‫ַהוֹרג ֲחבֵרוֹ ְבּי ָדוֹ כְּגוֹן‬ ֵ ‫כָּל ה‬
‫שׁ ְכּפָתוֹ‬ֶ ‫ אוֹ‬.‫שּׁלַח ֲעבָדָ יו ַוה ֲָרגוּהוּ‬ ָ ‫שׁ‬
ֶ ‫הוֹרג ַלהֲר ֹג אֶת ֲחבֵרוֹ אוֹ‬ֵ ‫ ֲאבָל הַשּׂוֹכֵר‬:‫מָקוֹם הוּא ְבּ ַעצְמוֹ ה ֲֵרי זֶה נֶה ֱָרג ְבּבֵית דִּ ין‬
‫ ַועֲוֹן ה ֲִריגָה ְבּי ָדוֹ‬.‫ כָּל ֶאחָד ֵמאֵלּוּ שׁוֹפְֵך דָּ מִים הוּא‬.‫ַהוֹרג אֶת ַעצְמוֹ‬ ֵ ‫ ְוכֵן ה‬.‫ְו ִהנִּיחוֹ ִל ְפנֵי ָהא ֲִרי ְוכַיּוֹצֵא בּוֹ ַוה ֲָרגַתְ הוּ ַחיּ ָה‬
:‫ ְואֵין ָבּהֶן מִיתַ ת בֵּית דִּ ין‬.‫שּׁ ַמי ִם‬
ָ ‫ְו ַחיּ ָב מִיתָ ה ַל‬

Mishneh Torah, Murderer and the Preservation of Life 2:1-2

If anyone killed another with his own hand, as when he struck him down with a sword or a deadly
rock, strangled him to death or burned him alive, he must be executed by the court, because at any
rate he murdered a man by himself. On the other hand, if a man hired a murderer to kill
somebody, or sent servants to kill him, or tied him up and put him in front of a lion or similar
beast and it killed him, and also if an individual attempted suicide, each of these is guilty of
shedding blood and bears the crime of murder; he deserves to die by an act of God, but is not
executed by the court.
Can I protect my
home however I
want?
 ‫ד׳‬-‫ב׳‬:‫כתובות ק״ד א‬
‫ההוא יומא דנח נפשיה דרבי גזרו רבנן תעניתא ובעו רחמי ואמרי כל מאן דאמר נח נפשיה דר' ידקר בחרבסליקא אמתיה דרבי לאיגרא אמרה‬
‫עליוני' מבקשין את רבי והתחתוני' מבקשין את רבי יהי רצון שיכופו תחתונים את העליונים כיון דחזאי כמה זימני דעייל לבית הכסא וחלץ תפילין‬
[‫ומנח להו וקמצטער אמרה יהי רצון שיכופו עליונים את התחתוניםולא הוו שתקי רבנן מלמיבעי רחמי שקלה כוזא שדייא מאיגרא ]לארעא‬
‫אישתיקו מרחמי ונח נפשיה דרבי‬

Ketubot 104a:2-4
It is related that on the day that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi died, the Sages decreed a fast, and begged for divine mercy so
that he would not die. And they said: Anyone who says that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi has died will be stabbed with a
sword. The maidservant of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi ascended to the roof and said: The heavens are requesting the
presence of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, and those on earth are requesting the presence of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. May it be
the will of God that those on earth should impose their wishes over the wishes of heaven. However, when she saw
how many times he would enter the bathroom and remove his Tefillin, and then exit and put them back on, and
how he was suffering with his intestinal disease, she changed her mind and said: May it be the will of God that the
heavens should impose their wishes upon those on earth. Meanwhile, the Sages who were praying for his life would
not be silent, from begging for mercy so that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi would not die. So she took a jug and threw it
from the roof to the ground. Due to the sudden noise, the Sages were momentarily silent and paused their praying, and,
in that moment, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi died.
What is the law regarding
a case where one is unsure
of the intruder’s
intentions?
 ‫ב׳‬-‫א׳‬:‫שמות כ״ב‬
‫אִם־ ַבּ ַמּח ְֶתּ ֶ֛רת יִמָּצֵ ֥א ַהגּ ַָנּ֖ב ְוה ָֻכּ֣ה ו ֵ ָ֑מת אֵ ֥ין ל֖ וֹ דָּ מִ ֽים׃ אִם־ז ְָר ָח֥ה‬
‫ַשּׁמֶשׁ ע ָָל֖יו דָּ ִ ֣מים ֑לוֹ … ׃‬ ֶ֛ ‫ה‬
Exodus 22:1-2
If the thief is seized while tunneling, and he is beaten
to death, there is no bloodguilt in his case. If the sun
has risen on him, there is bloodguilt in that case ...
 Summary of groups being attacked:
Case 1: Attacker demands any person. Law:
Don’t hand anyone over.
Case 2: Attacker demands a specific person.
Law: Rabbi Yochanan - Hand him over; Rabbi
Shimon ben Lakish - Don't hand him over.
 ‫כ׳‬:‫סנהדרין ע״ד א‬
‫רוצח גופיה מנא לן סברא הוא דההוא דאתא לקמיה דרבה ואמר ליהאמר לי מרי דוראי זיל‬
?‫קטליה לפלניא ואי לא קטלינא לך אמר ליה לקטלוך ולא תיקטול מי יימר דדמא דידך סומק טפי‬
.‫דילמא דמא דהוא גברא סומק טפי‬
Sanhedrin 74a:20
… And how do we know this of murder itself [that one must allow himself to be
killed instead of killing another]? — It is common sense. Even as one who came
before Raba and said to him, ‘The governor of my town has ordered me, “Go
and kill so and so; if not, I will kill you”’. He [Raba] answered him, ‘Let him
rather kill you than that you should commit murder; who says that your blood is
redder? Perhaps his blood is redder.’
 ‫יונה א׳‪:‬ז׳‪-‬ט״ו‬
‫ַגּוֹרל‬
‫ֽוֹר ֔לוֹת ַויּ ִ֥פּ ֹל ה ָ ֖‬ ‫שׁלּ ְִמ֛י ה ָָר ָע֥ה ה ַ֖זּ ֹאת ָל֑נוּ ַויּ ַ ִפּ֙ל ֙וּ גּ ָ‬ ‫ֽוֹר ֔לוֹת ו ְֵנ֣דְ ָ֔עה ְבּ ֶ‬ ‫ֶל־ר ֵ֗עהוּ לְכ ֙וּ ְונ ִַפּ֣ילָה ג ָ‬
‫וַיּ ֹאמ ְ֞רוּ ִ ֣אישׁ א ֵ‬
‫אַר ֶ֔צָך‬ ‫ֲשׁר ְלמִי־ה ָָר ָע֥ה ה ַ֖זּ ֹאת ָל֑נוּ מַה־ ְמּלַאכְתְּ ָ֙ך וּמ ַ ֵ֣אי ִן תָּ ֔בוֹא ָ ֣מה ְ‬ ‫ה־נּ֣א ָ֔לנוּ ַבּא ֶ ֛‬ ‫עַל־יוֹנָ ֽה׃ וַיּ ֹאמ ְ֣רוּ ֵא ָ֔ליו ַהגִּידָ ָ‬
‫ָשׂה אֶת־ ַה ָיּ֖ם ְואֶת־‬ ‫שּׁ ַ֙מי ִם֙ ֲא ִנ֣י י ֵָ֔רא ֲאשֶׁר־ע ָ ֥‬ ‫אָנ ֹכִי ְואֶת־ה' א ֵ ֤‬
‫ֱֹלקי ַה ָ‬ ‫ֵיהם ִעב ִ ְ֣רי ֑‬ ‫וְאֵ ֽי־ ִמ ֶזּ ֥ה ַ ֖עם אָ ֽתָּ ה׃ וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ֲאל ֶ ֖‬
‫שׁים כִּ ֽי־ ִמ ִלּפ ְֵנ֤י ה' ה֣ וּא‬ ‫ַהיַּבּ ָָשֽׁה׃ ַו ִיּ ְֽיר ֤אוּ הָ ֽ ֲאנָשִׁים֙ י ְִר ָ ֣אה גְדוֹ ָ֔לה וַיּ ֹאמ ְ֥רוּ א ֵָל֖יו מַה־זֹּ֣את ע ִ ָ֑שׂיתָ כִּ ֽי־י ָדְ ע֣ וּ ָה ֲאנָ ֗ ִ‬
‫ַה־נּ ֲעשֶׂה ָ֔לְּך ְויִשׁ ְ֥תּ ֹק ַה ָיּ֖ם מֵ ֽע ֵָל֑ינוּ ִכּ֥י ַה ָיּ֖ם הוֹלֵ ְ֥ך וְס ֵֹעֽר׃ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ֲאלֵי ֶ֗הם‬ ‫ב ֵֹ֔ר ַח ִכּ֥י ִה ִגּ֖יד לָהֶ ֽם׃ וַיּ ֹאמ ְ֤רוּ ֵאלָי ֙ו מ ַ ֣‬
‫שׁ ִ֔לּי ה ַ ַ֧סּעַר ַהגּ ָ֛דוֹל ַה ֶזּ֖ה ֲעלֵיכֶ ֽם׃ ַויַּחְתְּ ֣רוּ‬ ‫יוֹד ַע ָ֔אנִי ִכּ֣י ְב ֶ‬
‫ֵיכ֑ם ֚ ִכּי ֵ ֣‬‫שׂא֙וּנִ ֙י ַו ֲהטִילֻ ֣ נִי אֶל־ ַק ָ֔יּם ְויִשׁ ְ֥תּ ֹק ַה ָיּ֖ם מֵ ֽ ֲעל ֶ‬ ‫ָ‬
‫אַל־נ֣א‬
‫ָ‬ ‫ָשׁיב אֶל־ ַהיַּבּ ָ ָ֖שׁה וְֹל֣ א י ָ֑כ ֹלוּ ִכּ֣י ַה ָ֔יּם הוֹלֵ ְ֥ך וְס ֵ ֹ֖ער ֲעלֵיהֶ ֽם׃ ַויִּק ְְר ֨אוּ אֶל־ה' וַיּ ֹאמ ְ֗רוּ א ָָנּ֤ה ה'‬ ‫שׁים ְלה ִ ֛‬ ‫ָה ֲאנָ ֗ ִ‬
‫ֲשׁר ח ַ ָ֖פצְתָּ ע ִָשֽׂיתָ ׃ ַויִּשְׂא ֙וּ אֶת־יוֹ ָ֔נה‬ ‫שׁ ה ִ ָ֣אישׁ ַה ֶ֔זּה וְאַל־תִּ ֵתּ֥ן ע ֵָל֖ינוּ ָ ֣דּם נ ִ ָ֑קיא כִּ ֽי־א ָ ַ֣תּה ה' ַכּא ֶ ֥‬ ‫נ ֹאבְדָ֗ ה ְבּ ֶ֙נ ֶפ ֙‬
‫ַויְט ִֻל֖הוּ אֶל־ ַק ָיּ֑ם ַויַּע ֲ֥מ ֹד ַה ָיּ֖ם ִמזַּ ְעפּֽוֹ׃‬
 Jonah 1:7-15
The men said to one another, “Let us cast lots and find out on whose account this misfortune has come
upon us.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. They said to him, “Tell us, you who have brought
this misfortune upon us, what is your business? Where have you come from? What is your country, and
of what people are you?” “I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the LORD, the God of Heaven, who
made both sea and land.” The men were greatly terrified, and they asked him, “What have you done?”
And when the men learned that he was fleeing from the service of the LORD—for so he told
them—they said to him, “What must we do to you to make the sea calm around us?” For the sea was
growing more and more stormy. He answered, “Heave me overboard, and the sea will calm down for
you; for I know that this terrible storm came upon you on my account.” Nevertheless, the men rowed
hard to regain the shore, but they could not, for the sea was growing more and more stormy about
them. Then they cried out to the LORD: “Oh, please, LORD, do not let us perish on account of this
man’s life. Do not hold us guilty of killing an innocent person! For You, O LORD, by Your will, have
brought this about.” And they heaved Jonah overboard, and the sea stopped raging.